#nyx is older than canon is this

[lowstakesvampires]

behold. the very first bite chart (ca. 2017)

[solei-eclipse]

I've actually been thinking a lot about ALNST OCs and other characters they reminded me of, so here it is. Some of these have actual reasons, some of them are inaccurate as hell and just based on vibes alone

Akane as San (Princess Mononoke)

I mean. Look at them. The wild energy, the fact that Akane's guardian is essentially named "fang"...

Evon as Kiki & Jae as Tombo (Kiki's Delivery Service)

Mostly inspired by the sweet scene of Tombo and Kiki just having a chat on the grass. Evon as Kiki would most likely be less eager and optimistic than OG Kiki (or maybe if her trauma didn't manifest in this universe) though I imagine Jae would still share the same brightness and friendliness as Tombo (at least after his haircut). Jae as the kid who tries very hard to befriend an apprehensive Evon... Kiki being defensive and avoiding the other kids her age reminded me a bit of Evon.

Tallis as Seiji Amasawa (Whisper of the Heart)

Honestly this one has more to do with Tallis' knack for instruments. Not sure why Seiji gives me Tallis vibes... I just feel like he would also be the type to borrow a bunch of books for the small chance that someone he liked would end up seeing his name on them. You know, instead of an outright approach since he's got a more closed-off nature. Maybe Himei could be Shizuku? Definitely not a perfect character match, but still. It's just vibes.

Tov as Sophie Hatter & Azure as Howl Pendragon (Howl's Moving Castle)

Once again, not an exact character match, but still. Tov is canonically an older sister to Wren and has a more reserved disposition like Sophie does. I see Tov in that scene where Howl tells Sophie "your hair looks like starlight." Howl and Sophie's star symbolism like Tov and Azure's star symbolism... Howl's charming smile being a facade and his desire to be untouchable or beautiful reminds me a bit of Azure... Plus that one Howl look where he has black hair and blue eyes....

Alternatively, Aurien as Sophie Hatter & Solei as Howl Pendragon

It's the bird thing, yeah. But also Auri's low self esteem and weak sense of identity translating into Sophie's low expectations of herself, the braided brown hair, Solei's constant smile sometimes feeling like a mask unnatural for their current situation, their "cowardice" and hatred of themself for running away... heavily on the bird thing though LMAO

Aurien as Princess Kaguya (The Tale of Princess Kaguya)

Moon princess who quickly loses control of her life (or the little control she had in the first place), dolled up and presented to others like an object, intense outbursts and an overall air of melancholy

Rosca as Ponyo (Ponyo)

Admittedly, this is one of those super inaccurate pure vibe ones (I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the orange hair and red dress). I'm pretty sure Rosca is too prideful or princess-like to behave in such a carefree and reckless manner like Ponyo does... As an alternative, Rosca also kind of reminds me of the senior witch that Kiki meets on her way to the city in Kiki's Delivery Service (the one Jiji calls snobby).

Castor, Nyx or Dian as Lin (Spirited Away)

Big sibling vibe! The older, more capable senior who's stern on the outside (job requirement) but ride or die when you really get to know them. They've got a certain fire to them.

Azure as Haku (Spirited Away)

I've explained before, but the devotion to duty and the wishes of those above him, outwardly stoic and unfeeling (Haku was described to be a "transparent" character, which reminds me of Azure's apathy and lack of interest in many things). The association with the color blue (sky and water + flying in dragon form described as "climbing the stars") and just their physical appearance in general. Dark colored long-ish hair ftw

Aurien as No Face (Spirited Away)

Also explained before! The "dullness" or "emptiness" that they try to fill, meek loneliness and general feeling of being left out or misunderstood. Among other things

Vera as Nausicaa (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind)

Kind of also a vibe one? But Nausicaa has a very nurturing and kind disposition that I can see as Vera based on the fact that she was the eldest of the pets at her home. I also associate Vera with environmental themes and nature imagery which is very prominent in the movie.

Will add onto this when more things come to mind! Sorry if it's inaccurate, wrote this on a whim and on vibes alone. Just throwing ideas out there!

OCs belong to:

@sotogalmo @lookatmysillies @apriciticreveries @rockwgooglyeyes @ivanttakethis @bittersweet-adagio @azureitri @aakaneeee @heycloseyoureyes

[jacqcrisis]

Hello! Sorry if you're tired of talking about your older writing instead of the current works which I also love, but I wanted to say I love your characterization(s) of Charon throughout your work and I was wondering if you had any tips on understanding his character's core/just how to write him true to form?

Listen. Listen. I can talk about Charon all day. I love him. I have other hades AUs I haven’t even talked about on here that I think about often to this day and if I ever get the itch, they will be written.

And that’s very kind of you to say. Idk if I write him true to any form, but I am extremely anal about keeping characters as in character as possible. Or at the very least, as believably in character as I can. When I plan on writing a character for a longer fic, whether AU or not, I usually try to find out everything about them and break them down to the bone before building it back up. What is in canon that I can use to build back a believable skeleton that is fleshed by what I can infer from the bones underneath?

So core character concepts for Charon that are in canon that I use:

Greedy - he likes him gold and him stuff. No matter what universe you are writing in, this is one of, if not, the biggest driving factor for any job or hobby he has. He wants money, he likes money, and he knows how to make money.

Protective - of his things, his lifestyle, and the people he cares about. He’ll fight Zagreus, who he likes, if he touches his shit. One of the few emotions you can get out of him in game is anger at possibly uncovering his ‘thing’ with Hermes. He keeps Persephone’s location a secret (thereby protecting her) because either he cares for her or because Nyx does and Charon cares about his mom.

Difficult to discern - in part because he’s a big spooky skull man whose face you can’t see and who doesn’t talk, but it also seems to be mostly on purpose. Charon can communicate, given what other characters know more about him, but he specifically chooses not to. What you come to know about him, you find out through context clues, what other people say, and your own sleuthing which leads to-

Extremely private and disinterested in other people’s opinions about him - to the point, he doesn’t care what the GODS THEMSELVES think. All of them think he’s vile and nasty (save for Hermes). The people he’s close with know the kind of person he is, and that’s what matters. On top of that, he has his secrets, and he keeps them hidden, one of these secrets being who he is as a person. 

Independent - Nyx states she doesn’t worry about him because he’s extremely good at doing his own thing and he likes it that way, unlike her other failsons. His intentions are all on his own, and he doesn’t answer to anyone; not her, not Hades, not the gods, only himself. If he is helping someone, it is for his own reasons (maybe because he cares, probably because of money, possibly because Hermes asked).

Clever - He’s literally the head of an underground smuggling ring in game. Like this man knows how to do shit, make money, and get away with it. He’s capable of thinking many steps ahead, and able to plan for the long con.

Methodical - He's got his routine. He rows his boat. He counts his coin. He's mans his shops. He does things his way. He has his methods and he sticks to them.

Patient - that one's a gimme. He’s older than most of the gods and paddles a ferry around at the pace of molasses and doesn’t speak and does nothing to really speed Zagreus’ plight along. Clearly he understands and practices patience. 

Good Fighter - he’ll beat your ass.

Asexual (of some kind) - Aphrodite directly states she can’t get to Charon as he only ‘lusts after coin’. He is immune to machinations of the goddess of sex and beauty. But not the god of merchants, clearly.

A Gentleman - by Hermes’ opinion. Hermes really likes Charon. Please say hi to him for Hermes because- 

Charon Really Likes Hermes - no matter what you think is going on between them, if it’s just friendship, or professional associates, or he’s in love, this is canon. He ignores everyone at the party for Hermes and vice versa. He’s very protective of the thing they have going on. He specifically lets Hermes into the Underworld far enough that Zeus can’t sense him anymore. Hermes hangs out in his shop. Hermes boon is THE MOST EXPENSIVE ONE AT HIS LAST SHOP NO MATTER WHAT. I cannot stress how much Charon gives Hermes a pass and how much Hermes seemingly knows about him despite the other core concepts listed above I just- I- AH

Anyways, from those bones, you can start to infer and build back a believable version of the character for whatever you are writing. Is he kind and thoughtful? Probably, given how the people who know him talk about him. Is he loyal? Given how he acts in regards to his inner circle, you could say yes. Does he have a temper? Probably not, given he doesn’t care much about other people’s opinions nor reacts very much to anything in canon save for very specific circumstances. Is he lonely? Probably, on some level considering he’s alone all the time and how protective he is of his buddy, etc, etc, etc. 

The bones justify what you are putting on top of them and with that, for whatever thing you're writing, you can build up a believable version of a character. Even in the most extreme of AUs, like in the 70’s and on a beach in America or maybe in a dnd type universe where a character might be a lich for…reasons, as long as the core concepts are in place and every decision or authorial deviation from canon the characters make stem from those, it will be fine.

[department-of-landing-strategies]

So initially this was supposed to happen after I did pre-canon stuff for at least Marcus and Audrey but I have more motivation right now to do this so now presenting Pre-Canon (and touching on a bit of canon and post canon) headcanons for Percy Weasley:

Despite what others thought, Percy was the second parent to the family and not Bill. When Molly lost her brothers, she ended up in a state where she only managed consistently to be able to cook dinner. Percy decided to take the parenting responsibility on himself, which Bill was thankful for, partly to try and avoid processing the loss of his uncles. Since he couldn't really do much in terms of cooking, Percy enlisted Charlie to help make food. A system got formed that involved Percy parenting his younger siblings that stayed even after Molly got more involved and Charlie left for Hogwarts. The system only got thrown out the window and into a pit of fire when Percy left for Hogwarts.

Percy saw his Uncle Fabion and Uncle Gideon as father figures more than he saw Arthur as a father figure. This happened because Percy was around his uncles more than his father during the war, which left parenting Percy to Fabion and Gideon more often than not. After the war, Arthur tried to parent Percy, but Percy refused to let it happen partly because he saw it as Arthur trying to take over Fabion's and Gideon's jobs. Arthur gave up trying to parent Percy, and their bond never really developed much even as Percy got older.

Despite looking up to both Bill and Charlie, Percy was always closer with Charlie. Besides Charlie helping Percy parent their younger siblings, both found each other the best to listen to each others rambles. As a result, Charlie knows a lot of magical laws and Percy knows a lot about a lot of magical creatures.

Percy looked like a mini male version of Molly with some of Arthur's attributes. As a result, Percy looked really similar to Fabion and Gideon. After the first wizarding war, it Molly a while to be able to look at Percy because half of the time when she looked at Percy she would see one of her brothers.

Percy's accidental magic was illusion and apperation based. Whenever Percy would read a book to one of his younger siblings, there was a chance that an illusion would encompass the room and change depending on what the part of the book Percy was currently reading was describing. As for Percy's accidental apparitions, when the Burrow would get too loud, Percy would usually apparate to the roof of the Burrow. If the rest of his siblings were playing Quidditch when it happened, however, Percy would apperate to Muriel's house because her house was always quieter than the Burrow was when Quidditch was involved. With gaining a wand, the illusions were harder to stop than the apperations.

Percy has an attachment to stuffed animals. It started with a black dragon plushie he named Nyx that ended up being one of the last things Fabion and Gideon gave him. Throughout his time at Hogwarts, mostly during the first four years, the most common gift Penny, Oliver, Audrey, and Marcus got Percy was some sort of plushie, which led to Percy gaining a collection of something he had almost all positive memories towards. Percy gained a Gryffindor coloured dragon plushie to add to the collection from the twins after the war as a gift meant to try and start to make amends.

Percy and the twins got along better than they did in canon before any of them went to Hogwarts. The twins jealously of several of their siblings that weren't Percy (mostly Ron) for taking Percy's attention from them meant it always had some cracks. It only started to get bad the summer after Percy's first year, and the twins started to aim their pranks at Percy to try and keep Percy's nkw more limited attention in them

Percy didn't initially want to go into a job at the MoM. If you asked what job Percy wanted to do before Percy's third year, you'd get an answer along the lines of a creative job or a job that involves divination.

Percy used to do art. His best part of the process was the sketch and the line art. That's not to say he was bad at colour. It's just that he was more experienced with sketches than full coloured pieces. He decided to hide his supplies after Molly, either accidentally or on purpose, burned some sketches. Percy stopped after Charlie accidentally caused a fire in his room that took most of Percy's art supplies and some of Charlie's school stuff. He only got back into it after the war aince it helped work through some feelings

Percy was the only one who got told in person about Charlie going to Romania. Charlie's plan was to explain that he was going to Romania and then apologise for destroying Percy's supplies. Percy lashed out and stormed off from the conversation before Charlie could apologise. As a result, Charlie decided to explain the Romania bit through a letter (rip Bill's mail that month) and apologise for the fire to Percy in a separate letter.

When Bill left, Percy was the one that sent him letters. Initially, it started as two letters a month, which capped at a side of parchment. After the twins showed up to Hogwarts, it became once a month letters that occasionally needed a second sheet of parchment. The letters turned to only happening in extreme cases of concern or in case of celebatory news when Ron started Hogwarts before being cut entirely after the fight with Arthur.

Percy can see thestrals thanks to Fabion and Gideon. He had a breakdown about it when he and Oliver got in their dorms that night. The breakdown was fuelled by every emotion that Percy bottled up since the Weasleys lost Fabion and Gideon.

[that-one-i-think]

My MCD OC Nyx's canon backstory

He was a small baby deer in the twilight forest who was separated from his herd and parents. Starving, he went to eat and came upon a small cottage with a few berry bushes outside, so he decided to go eat.

Little did he know that Pavana, an enchantress,in that cottage, and he was exactly what she was looking for. Pavana, a woman with a love for peacocks, was trans and with no amulets or others to have a child with, and she desperately wanted one. So here comes an orphaned baby deer, and suddenly, SHE HAS A CHILD!

She took little Nyx in and using a few spells and careful use of some of her fae blood, a bit of ent sap, some lich dust, and a careful bit of minotaur tears SHE TURNED HIM HUMAN.... Sorta. Well, her grandfather's fae blood definitely gave him her family's pink eyes but everything else... not so much.

Whose to say toddlers are even human? So she raised him as her child, and Nyx was really happy! Sure, gaining sentience beyond what any of your species could ever comprehend was new, but that's just kind of how toddlers are. He got a new mom and Pavana got a little boy!

His mom then started teaching him all about magic, and with the magic coursing through his veins, it came naturally. He became an amazing sorcerer. Unfortunately, he didn't have his mothers trick for illusions, so he wasn't able to be an enchanter like her, but it still worked out. They even managed to find away to make the spell that turned him human non reversible unless concented so he was able to shift from deer to human with ease.

Unfortunately, one day while he was experimenting he got spooked by a skeleton mid transformation and got stuck as a deer centaur for a week and ripped all of his clothes. Pavana couldn't stop laughing and refused to help him turn back until he ran into a minoshroom who wouldn't stop hitting on him.

When he was 19, he used his magic to try and stop the spread of Liches and the reign of monsters in the Twilight Forest. He managed to keep them in check for years before what felt like an explosion of magical force ran through the world, caused by what could have only been someone ripping a dimension open. Then what he thought he had undercontrol suddenly became unmanageable, and Ur-Ghasts and Hydra and every other monster were popping up left and right. Liches, older and more powerful than what Nyx had ever dealt with came to life, bringing with them not the normal zombies but red husks of people. Shadow Knight corpses.

Worst of all, some of the Liches escaped the forest and Nyx knew that he had to follow. While magic is strong in the Twilight Forest, it is unstoppable against normal people. On the hunt of a Lich, he runs into a village brimming with magical folk, Phoenix Drop. Deciding to rest for a few days, he gets to a tavern where he gets caught turning bronze coins gold by one blue haired guard.

Small adage: When Nyx is 19 Pavana tells him to find his own wizard tower and goes "Finally! You are grown and I can live in peace!" Even though she chose to have him. They both know she is joking and he visits when he can and so does she. Pavana will never die.

Nyx does end up converting a massive magical redwood tree into his home. He hollows out the inside and uses the wood to create all of the furniture. He does make sure that the tree will continue living with the help of a few nymphs and dryads that use his house as shelter on the occasion.

[imkazz]

things i will PAY for to have in tsats

1. nico to make a bones joke

2. will to wear cargo pants to tartarus

3. apollo to give them a ride somewhere

4. them to say goodbye to some people

5. wear the ‘tartarus club’ shirt

6. will to critisize the river phleglon (river of fire)

7. nicos big sacrifice to be some super rare mythomagic card he brought

8. them to stop next to elysium to say goodbye to some dead people (jason) edit yk what that would alert hades who expressed that nico dont go back to tartarus

9. bob. please, bob be real.

10. solangelo to meet akhyles (goddess of misery)

11. will to use his glow in tartarus

12. them to hug as they fall down

13. please show meg somewhere i love nico and megs dynamic

14. will to be completely shook that nobody ever brings med kits on quests

15. meet with cupid/eros and will goes completely ballistic

16. apollo cabin to solely refer to nico as ‘brother in law’

17. yk i dont think plauge powers really would fit canon will but its a cool idea to think about @iwnut 

18. the brochure from when percabeth talked to nyx. yes @mistresscitrusslice . let them give their brochure to solangelo. “ok so in about 15 minutes and past the empousi cave, hellhound pack, and plauge spirit home should be the hermes temple” “oh thank the gods”

19. mr d to say goodbye to his favourite demigod and his boyfriend and hand will a rifle/ak47 and go “youre shit with any other weapon. the bullets are already in the bag.”

20. hunters of artemis. just. nico acting uncomfortable and will knowing part of the story so he shields nico away from most of them

21. shelper shelper shelper

22. this ones a bit far but please get married? and will to make a joke about ‘secret jedi wedding’ and for piper to officiate it and leo as the witness because he also made the rings and theyre trying not to rope that many people in

23. will to just say ‘there is a disturbance in the force’ in tartarus

24. nico to still hate pomogranites

25. please let us see nicos zombie chauffur jules-albert somewhere. 

26. mr d to force nico and will to watch something that looks like the orientation film but when they play it its percy and annabeth telling the dos and donts of a quest and percy is such a bad actor that theres so many cuts of percy saying ‘line?’  or ‘whats next’

27. and at the end percy goes ‘well what did you learn about going on your quest?’ dora the explorer style ‘great!’

28. trogs to go ‘ah its the son of hades and his bioluminecient boyfriend’ and will to just give a small sigh

29. mr d to talk to will in private and just: ‘wheel’ ‘thats still not my name’ ‘thats how nico says your name’ ‘well its just his accent’

30. please let there be an oath to styx. just not one as stupid as apollo because nico and will are smarter than that but yk what swearing to an immortal river who will get revenge on you if you break that promise doesnt sound that smart

31. solangelo to run into lukes shoes. we were robbed of this from percy and annabeth. imagine how funny itd be if they just ran into some winged shoes.

32. yk i want nico and thalia to meditate together and when asked what they were doing thalia to just respond ‘photosynthesizing’

33. orpheus and eurydice reference (this actually can become canon because on the cover it shows them holding hands with nico slightly more forward than will and pointing to the doors so nicorpheus and willdice)

34. will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backstory will backst-

35. some memories of nicos for jason to show how much he misses his friend

36. just a fleeting mention of bianca from either of them

37. if theres a will pov make him hate percy. mans was partially responsible for both his older brothers deaths. he did shit to his boyfriend which include strangling him at godsdamned twelve years old. will shouldnt exactly adore percy is more what i mean.

38. solangelo smooch.

39. nico is the new percy of chb. think of it, big 3 kid, very powerful, hero, lives at chb, close to percy, knows a lot of people. nico is just the go-to now that percy is at college and nico is a permanent resident. 

40. nico fan club. made of new younger campers, reyna, will, percy, annabeth, meg, apollo, hades, and a whole bunch of long-time campers.

41. just to have some new campers act like ttc!nico and follow nico around like he did with percy just asking questions and instead of finding them annoying like percy did nico would answer their questions truthfully like how apollo actually did for nico

these arent in order. id die to see the ‘tartarus club’ shirt to be worn by percy annabeth or nico though or at the end of the book for will to be gifted one though and more to be added

[raayllum]

1 - favorite fic you wrote this year. 3 - favorite line/scene you wrote this year. 12 - favorite character to write about this year. 14 - a fic you didn’t expect to write. 21 - most memorable comment/review. And 24 - favorite fic you read this year.

I have no precision on fandom or fic... You are free to choose which fandom. Thus, you may make us discover other universes.

1) favourite fic you wrote this year

Looked through and discovered that I wrote 20 fics this year, which is wild, even if the majority are oneshots so... certainly have my pick an picks for various reasons!

These are the ones, probably:

This Fall Might Just Kill Me is 10.2k of Callum trying and failing to get purified, post-S4, and was one of my favourites and one I return to pretty often for a personal re-read. Very Callum/Rayla centric, some magic worldbuilding, and lots of devotion. Oneshot

Twice as Many Stars is 8.7k of Sir Sparklepuff is an existential horror story, the fic, featuring more religious trauma allegory than expected. Also a oneshot

Teach Me How to Name the Bigger Light a fanon s6 currently of 5 out of roughly 26-30ish chapters, and at 41k and counting. Main characters are Callum, Ezran, Rayla, and Claudia in about that order. It's a lot of fun, and a lot of angst

3) favourite line/scene this year

"If it's not you, it's not anyone" has one of my favourite love / Rayllum confessions I've ever written. I also loved this line from a (now non canon) fic regarding Kpp'Ar's feelings on Callum/people "There are many ways to mend broken things, if you can". I deeply enjoyed Callum threatening Nyx over Rayla's safety in this pre-S5 fic and this piece of description as well: "Callum knelt down in front of her, her cheeks heating as he reached up and pried the shawl away again, looking at the way the scar crept over her shoulder like dark ivy" + this Rayllum passage from "this fall just might kill me" (edit in the link):

“It’s because if I die,” he said, squeezing her hands. “I want you to be the last thing I ever see. And you are good enough, Rayla. You are . I don’t care if you destroy me. I don't care if we make each other better or worse or both. I love you. I’ll fall for you every time. I’ll choose to, I’ll choose you, every time.” 

I also really enjoyed writing Callum and Lujanne in "older but just never wiser" because it was interesting to revisit their dynamic now that well, Callum is older, powerful, and much more jaded/angry.

Drabbles wise this Rayllum one has one of my favourite metaphoric uses I've ever been able to pull off and I always love 1) writing messy Ezran and 2) Ezran being a little done with his brother's less than favourable methods, so this one for Ezran's "underhanded" comment for sure

But if I had to pick a singular exchange fic wise, it is of course the end of the Callum and Ezran fight from Ch4 of fanon s6, because it was a line that hurt me so much I was sad the rest of the day, and I also thought of it before writing a decent chunk of the boys' argument, so making sure it felt earned and hit the way I wanted to was very fun if also angsty. I apologize in advance lmao:

Only this time Callum scoffed, peeling away, his green eyes glinting. “Yeah, right.”  “I am your king and I forbid you—” “You don’t get to forbid me from doing anything because guess what?” A manic gleam overtook his brother’s face. “I don’t fucking care what you think, nevermind what you fucking decree. I’m freeing Runaan, and that’s final.”  “Then you can do it without my help,” Ezran said with a ragged breath. “Because I am not giving you my seal.”  Callum stared at him with cold eyes. “Dad would be so disappointed in you.” But this time Ezran was ready for the blow, as he said, “Well at least I called him Dad."

A shameless plug OG fantasy world wise was definitely this lines from my sequel WIP. You can learn more about it/the fantasy world here <3

The Alpha of the Crescents may have worn her old friend’s face and mannerisms, but the girls they’d both been were long dead, just like their families.  It was time to finish the job and bury them.

as well as

“Good. Vita willing I won’t live to see your next lives.” “Because seeing you again has been so pleasant,” Jamie muttered.

from book one

12) favourite character to write about this year

Given my above answers it's clearly been Callum, but Ezran has probably been my standout in "teach me how to name the bigger light," easy, even if I think Rayla's POV is going to sneak up on me more and more as the fic goes on, especially once we reach the chapters at the Starscraper. I've also written a somewhat decent amount of Kpp'Ar POV this year, I loved writing Claudia in "twice as many stars" in particular. Everyone? Can I say everyone?

But if I had to pick, Callum. (Non fic wise it's all the OG chosen one kiddos running around, I love 'em.)

14) a fic you didn't expect to write

Many days of angry muttering and half concocted plot points predated "teach me how to name the bigger light" and I am still slightly internally salty about it. However, it does feel good to have one last fanon season foray, especially since it's been four years since the last one, and I've been having a fucking blast, lemme tell you.

21) most memorable comment/review

This is hard because I do cherish every review and kind word I get (as well as anyone who leaves notes in their bookmarks) but there are some standouts. Basically anything from twice as many stars is fair game as well as this review on fanon s6, cause I'm gonna go the typical write route and say the long bois make my day / when readers catch onto the smaller details, that's absolutely my favourite:

@inamindfarfaraway <3 hope you've enjoyed the most recent chapter!

24) favourite fic you read this year

Have already done some TDP fic recs here so I'm gonna focus on what's in my bookmarks for now! I mostly read LOZ or SOC fics when I'm not making my way through TDP backlog, but this one for Six of Crows centreing on Inej and Kaz called High Wire Act stood out to me and I'm really enjoying "for the children we couldn't be" for TDP because it's trio centric and the exact kind of time travel fuckery I like to read.

This is tricky, though, cause I find most often the favourite things I participate in is like, the stuff I write because it's what I want to read and most tailored to my specific tastes? I also just don't read as much fic as I could / have in the past and it's hard to pick Just One Fic, y'know? So cop out answer, maybe, but this is the one!

[frauleinandry]

a persona 3 reload review

uuuuuuh so i was meant to post this like... two weeks ago, but then real life hit me in the head like a frying pan. now that i've had the time to edit this though, here are my thoughts on p3re! this is also a minato route review, as i played kotone's in P3P (i know it's not his canon name, but i don't want to use makoto due to P5 confusion).

on the whole, reload is a fantastic game. the gameplay easily rivals P5R, and surpasses it in some aspects. the new content is typically great. i also enjoyed minato as a character (well, as much of a character as persona protagonists are anyway), though that leads me to the main gripe i had with reload...

... and that's the lack of kotone's social links. to be precise, two of her social links, the absence of which greatly hurts the overall story.

don't get me wrong, i'd still rank reload a solid 8/10, but it could have been a 10/10 with the addition of those two links (plus one other spoiler thing), and I think that's a shame.

my in depth analysis is under the cut - note, it's very much not spoiler free.

okay, so, i'm gonna split this into 3.5 segments - the good, the mixed, and the bad (you'll find out what the 0.5 is later).

1. the good:

minato - while i'm still a kotone girlie at heart, he's not a bad protagonist at all! his dialogue options have a very distinct personality to them unlike joker and yu, and his character arc is one of the best of all of the persona main leads. an aloof, apathetic boy who learns to love the world/his friends so much he's willing to die for them... it's good!

koromaru - minor, but worth mentioning. you can pat him, and it's so cute. in fact, everything about him is perfect. from his all-out attack screen, to his animations, to... well, everything. no joke, if I needed to sell this game to a non-persona fan, i'd use him as the main draw.

hangout events - while I think being able to chat to everyone in the dorm already made SEES one of the more developed casts, having additional scenes really helped flesh out the party members who are less prominent in the plot (fuuka, pre-january aigis, ken). more things to do at night is also great, given there was nothing to do in the evening after maxing your social stats in the older versions. the perks they give you are great too, but i'll talk about that more later.

voice acting - not gonna lie, i generally don't like the persona dubs, and normally always play with the JP audio. given reload features some of my favourite voice actors though and was basically fully voiced, i decided to give it a chance this time. and i don't regret it! while some actors are definitely stronger than others, none of them were actively jarring, and quite frankly, they hard carried a lot of the social links. kudos to the cast!

strega - while they could have gone a bit further with it (jin needed a linked episode for sure), takaya finally got the development he sorely needed, and his and jin's final battles were actually interesting, instead of being annoying distractions from nyx. in fact, i'd say takaya's new content is easily the best of the new reload exclusive material. in portable, he made no impression on me whatsoever, but now, he finally gets to be the anti!minato he deserves to be.

1.5. the tartarus (aka good part 2, electric boogaloo):

i have so many things to gush about in terms of the new combat/exploration system, i decided it needed its own section! the glow-up tartarus got was massive. i was pretty disappointed when i heard they were keeping it randomly generated, but somehow, atlus pulled it off! i'll talk about individual things below.

collectables/monad doors - one issue with OG tartarus is that it's monotonous. breakable collectables make it much more entertaining to romp through though, as smashing things is Fun. the monad doors interspersed throughout are another good addition - if you want a break from roaming, you can challenge them, but if not, that's fine!

floor layout - another thing that makes tartatus more fresh to explore is that the HD graphics really make the differences between the blocks pop out. the generally smaller floors with more unique layouts really helps too.

shifting - it's baton pass, though without the ridiculous power/sp bonuses that made baton pass a little bit too gamebreaking in persona 5. in other words, perfect!

theurgy - out of all the battle-specific improvements, theurgy and the personality traits have got to be my favourites. showtimes were fun, but too random/gimmicky to be that useful, and ultimate skills tended to fluctuate between being absolutely gamebreaking or too SP intensive to be worth using. blending them into one feature with a content-specific gauge fixes all the problems with them while keeping everything that made showtimes/ultimate skills good.

ambush mechanics - this was one of the things i was most worried about before playing reload. ambushing in P5 is fun, but ambushing in the other persona games...? not so much. reload manages to fix this though by making the shadows less sensitive, which makes the early game a lot better, and but introducing dash-ambushes once the floors get bigger. if the persona 6 ambush system works like this, i'll be happy.

navigator skills - fuuka being retooled to work more like a playable character was an A+++ decision. making her skills player-activated but with an SP cost is so much more immersive than randomly getting a stat boost/enemy info.

unfortunately, while i think most of the tartarus additions were great, there were a few new mechanics which weren't... dreadful, per say, but could have been implemented better.

great clocks - they're better than nothing, but quite frankly, i would have preferred it if benched units got 50% exp instead. they incentivise you to drop two units for a period of time, which is annoying, given i want to use everyone on my first playthrough. late game, great clocks are also a pain to summon, for reasons i'll talk about below.

twilight fragments - i think they're a neat idea in theory, but they need to be easier/more reliable to farm. once you finish off the bulk of your social links/elizabeth's requests, replenishing them becomes a nightmare, which is annoying because you need them for great clocks.

2. the mixed:

while reload did a lot of things right, as per above, there were some things that didn't quite hit the mark.

linked episodes - i'm gonna be blunt. anyone who thinks these are better than social links is smoking something. one thing i like about party member social links is that it gives them a subplot outside of the main story, focusing more on their mundane struggles as opposed to their supernatural ones. half of the linked episodes just develop the main plot more though (and really should have just been included in it), meaning the linked episode exclusive subplots are underbaked.

another problem is that some of the linked episodes are just... kinda badly written. ryoji's completely lacks his existential dread, akihiko's comes off as a poor attempt to make his arena behaviour less OOC, while shinjiro's... it feels like persona 5 writing, in the worst way possible. it's like atlus completely forgot that subtext is a thing that's Good, actually.

while I have been fairly critical of them so far though, there are a couple of linked episodes i liked. koromaru's actually worked with the format, given he's a dog, but the real winner here was takaya. i loved all of his. if linked episodes appear again, i'd rather they be locked to antagonists like him.

art direction- i'll say right now - the UI is fabulous, the model shaders are great, and tartarus looks fantastic. the environmental design on the whole though is a bit iffy - a lot of the environments didn't translate to the super HD very well, and the lighting sucks in general. i needed to turn down the brightness it was so eye-searing. the animation of the 2D cutscenes is also pretty mediocre, and while the 3D cutscenes tend to look better, they're held back by some of the character models looking a bit goofy (mitsuru's is probably the biggest offender). i also think they were too scared of making the sprites 'ugly', and therefore on the whole they're slightly less emotive than the ones in the older versions of the game, which is a pity.

3. the bad:

minato's social links - the vast majority of the minato-exclusive social links are just flat-out not great. serious props to the voice actors here, since they hard carried them. quite frankly, they're just... bland, except for maya's and suemitsu's, which. uh. have problems. on the topic of social links, while i'm happy the romance isn't mandatory anymore, i don't like how half the girls explicitly confess to you. i much prefer the more subtle vibes of the P5/P4 romantic options, as yeah, most of them can lead naturally into romance, but they don't make the MC feel like a harem anime protagonist (derogatory). it kinda brings to mind this twitter post; sometimes, subtlety is simply better.

the absence of shinji and ryoji's social links - i can live without saori, rio, and most of the new and improved SEES member social links, but this is where i draw the line. while shinji dying is better storytelling, just like with chidori, having the option to save him is also important. lock it behind new game plus, yes... but keep it. also, him priming kotone to support akihiko one he's gone is far better than him just flat-out telling minato that he's dying. ryoji's missing social link though is infinitely worse. where is his slowly mounting horror as he starts poking holes in his backstory? his desperation to validate that he's actually real? that he exists?! like yeah, it's nice that the linked episode doubled down on his bisexuality, but i'd rather keep the psychological breakdown aspects of it, y'know?

the difficulty - i started playing reload normal - the level i'd typically use for a blind run of a persona game - aaaaand swapped to hard the second i unlocked theurgy. even then though, the game was a cakewalk until january hit. while i love theurgy, the game is absolutely not scaled around it, especially since you can charge/concentrate them. doing that, you can easily rack up thousands of damage without even going ham with fusion. unfortunately, reload is just... really easy.

the plot's too faithful to the original - while reload added new content, it pretty much left the story untouched outside of the beach scene. that's... not good, as persona 3's narrative had some pretty big problems. the biggest issue is the unchanged pacing - the strega storyline really needed to start a month earlier, and ryoji needed an extra month to integrate with the characters due to his lack of social link. this is one of the things i'm explicitly docking a point for - reload still doesn't kick off until the yakushima arc, which is well over a third into the game.

despite my criticisms, i do want to note that my experience with reload was predominately positive. it's (extremely) sad that you still need to play portable to experience the full persona 3 story, but p3re is still a fantastic game, and has a lot of gameplay features i'd be delighted to see in persona 6.

that's all i've got to say for now - until next time!

[thehaemanthus]

live once (once is enough) primer

aka the most shameless self-promotion I've ever done

It's been *checks AO3* six years, wtf, six years since I posted the first one-shot in this universe. I'm grateful for all the interest, etc. etc., but I'm bad at promoting myself or sharing on tumblr. So here's a bit about the series, meant transparently to entice new readers and get long-time readers to reblog (and perhaps share their favorite character? a memorable chapter? no? all right it's asking a lot--)

live once (once is enough) is a now canon-divergent AU exploring the next generation of ACOTAR characters. With the birth of Nyx we are firmly AU now, alas, but since Nyx is a baby who isn't flushed out I can ignore his existence. Sorry, kid. This story covers everything from baby fluff to anxiety about the future to wars to coming of age stories to Cassian and Rhys as Girl Dads.

Is this a next generation fic with a bunch of OCs? Sure. Is it really good? I think so, but I'm biased. But my bro @galethehotandfabulous even did fanart for it. It's gotta be okay if someone did fanart for it.

Read more for info on characters, more in the series, and more.

Who are the kids?

Niphrym- The eldest child of Feyre and Rhys and the Heir to the Night Court. I like his name better than Nyx. He's compassionate like his mother, arrogant like his father, and takes his job as a big brother seriously. Niphrym tries to be the Perfect Heir, but has serious doubts about being a High Lord one day.

Vesriel- The second child of Feyre and Rhys, who has a whole multichapter fic written about him. Ves can be mean and sarcastic, but he's intensely loyal to his family and his Court. This is the one with the most Childhood Trauma.

Lysander- Third kid, very middle child coded. Lysander likes to keep to himself, but he can be charming and suave when he needs to. As Azriel's protégé, he's at ease in any environment and can blend into the background. He can also be stubborn and unforgiving.

Sahil- The youngest son, Sahil is chill, likable, and multitalented. Unlike his older brothers he doesn't clearly slot into a role in Night Court politics, but is reliable when called upon. Sahil is happy if everyone else is happy.

Marcyllae- Called Marcy, she is the youngest of the bunch along with her twin. Marcy is not magically talented, but she is charming and assertive. When Marcy wants something, she gets it. Incredible confidence hides some insecurity at being the least remarkable in an incredibly powerful family.

Meliora- Mel is Marcy's twin, quiet and thoughtful to her outgoing sister. Her power rivals Niphrym's. She's shy and a worrier, consumed with concerns about her power, the future, and who she wants to be. Rhys would never say it, but she is his favorite.

Adelaide- Eldest child of Nesta and Cassian, three years older than Niphrym (grr, canon messing up my universe). Addy is a lady and can play the courtier as well as her mother, though she has a fierce independent streak that leads her away from the Night Court. She cares about her family, but doesn't want to fight in wars or be involved in the daily running of the Court.

Xavier- Second child of Nesta and Cassian. Xavier has two sides; a promiscuous violinist sleeping his way through Velaris and the merciless trainer of Illyrians. He's impossible to manage, but is a good older sibling and cousin. Most of the time.

Catarina- Youngest child of Nesta and Cassian. Cat is only a few months older than Lysander. The two are closer with each other than their own siblings. Like Lysander, she is very principled and stubborn in her role as the commander of an all-female unit of Illyrians. Cat dotes on her younger female cousins.

Theia- Eldest child of Lucien and Elain. Theia was raised in the Day Court and sometimes feels separate from her Night Court cousins. She is incredibly confident and despises being left out of the loop on anything. Despite historical precedent, she sees herself as a Day Court heir and knows she will be a High Lady in her own right.

Cybele- Second child of Lucien and Elain. Cybele is content to be in her older sister's shadow. She is sweet and calm to Theia's brilliance, generally content to do her bit to serve the Day Court and promote peace in Prythian.

What are the stories?

live once (once is enough) is the main story, but there are other fics in the series.

miracles is a one-shot chronicling the five times Feyre goes into labor

The Second Son is a multichapter about Vesriel. A sequel is in the works.

lovely weather for a sledding adventure with you is a Modern AU of my AU because I couldn't resist. Pure holiday fluff.

Upcoming stories might include a multichapter about Mel and one about Lysander, and maybe more in the Modern AU of my AU universe.

You can also check out the tag for musings and tidbits.

How much of this is AU?

Pretty much just the existence of Nyx. When I wrote about Addy and Niphrym, I don't even think ACOSF was announced yet. I started the series before ACOFAS. There was an inkling that more books would be out, but I don't believe anything was confirmed.

So you'll see mentions of Gwyn and Emerie and Valkyries, but I conveniently ignore that which does not fit into my universe, haha.

When will the story be finished?

It's a series of one-shots, and I haven't lost interest yet, sooo who knows. If you are the kind of person who doesn't read a story until it is finished, just know that I'll be working on this whole universe for a while, I think.

[blithesrps]

From the TWST OCs questions, for any of yours of your choosing!

Is there anyone your OC sees as family?

What are some mannerisms your OC has picked up from the people around them? (be it other (people's) OCs or Canon Characters)

Can they be trusted in the kitchen? What's their favourite food?

Ohhh thank you these are great choices!

Is there anyone your OC sees as family?

It's a little funny, because early on I don't know that Ara had much of an idea of 'family'. It was more her sorting people into those who were hers to protect and those who weren't. It's not until later that some of those bonds deepened to what she'd consider her family.

Topping that list is Copper, Kalim and Jamil. She and Jamil connected early due to their similar circumstances, and Kalim was so welcoming and accepting it would have been hard for her not to grow attached quickly. She and Copper are similar in their reservedness and I think they sort of recognized that aspect in one another quickly. Scarabia is definitely the dorm that Ara feels she can let down her guard the most at.

And of course, her Nyx team, who haven't appeared a lot on my blog proper, but who are deeply important to her.

What are some mannerisms your OC has picked up from the people around them? (be it other (people's) OCs or Canon Characters)

Man this is SUCH a good question. I love noticing when people pick up phrases or habits from the people they love around them. It's hard to

I think Ara definitely starts to toss her head in the same way Leona does when he scoffs at something. That little jaw lift, leaning back. She does it as if to say 'yeah right', totally unconsciously.

Rat starts to cover his smile when he grins the way Vil does, a hand delicately hovering over his lips.

I'm sure there's more but I'll have to muse further...

Can they be trusted in the kitchen? What's their favourite food?

Ara can cook a meal that won't poison anyone. That's basically the limit of her abilities. She's not BAD per se, she just doesn't understand seasoning or flavor profiles, or the idea that food should be pleasurable and not just utility. So her stuff tends to be well prepared but a bit bland or boring.

She really likes peanut butter...her favorite food is probably some sort of peanut noodle dish, similar to pad thai.

Rat actually finds he really enjoys cooking! Going from having to fight for every scrap to being allowed the run of ingredients whenever he wants...it's like he suddenly has access to a whole new world!

Unfortunately, he'll also eat ANYTHING, so some of his experiments are...less palatable to others than they are to him. But as he gets older he starts to work things out.

He loves all food, but favors wild game, like venison or hare. Rook teaches him to make Lapin a La Cocotte and that becomes one of his specialties.

[fangaminghell]

It's been a while since I talked about anything specifically on my Insurgence rewrite lol. Fair warning, everything I put out is basically a very rough draft of ideas. Insurgence is a big game with a lot of moving parts that more often than not don't make much sense? Or just didn't really age well.

Anyway, I wanted to give focus to Demeter, Diana and Persephone today! They'd backstory I mean.

Let's start with the mother herself: Demeter. Demeter is a powerful magic user of the modern time. She is often sought out for her abilities, especially her abilities to prophesize. Cultist especially, would try to seek her out. Because of this, Demeter opted to stay hidden, only going out for necessities. This became doubly true with her daughters, Diana and Persephone. Fearing what not only cultist, but the world would do to her daughters, she strictly forbade them from leaving their little sanctuary. Of course, Demeter had to leave every now and again, so to look after her twins, she created the Oracle- the one that's in the game canon. The Oracle is a magical being in this rewrite, who pretty much has the same powers as Demeter. We'll explore that a bit later. Right now Oracle is the babysitter/older sibling to Diana and Persephone.

It was good for a while. Demeter was restrictive, paranoid, but things were still good. She had her family safe and sound. But children were always rebellious. And one day they managed to sneak past Oracle and sneak out into the real world. A glorious day turned sour when the infernal cult found them and captured them. Demeter followed suit, storming into the base, demanding her daughters back. The cult, however had different plans.

Truthfully this part is still very unclear to me, but the long and short of it that the infernal cult made a deal with Demeter: her magic for her daughters safety. Again, this is still unclear but Demeter ends up dying regardless, and when she died, so did Oracle, as it was an extension of her magic. Or at least, the Oracle would have died, if it weren't for Nyx intervening and taking the Oracle for her own. This resulted in Oracle having no memory of their past with Demeter, or the twins. All they know is Nyx, and the role they play. Oracle, in Nyx's possession, still has Demeter's powers, which causes some things to be. Familiar. But they do not know why.

Moving past that, after Demeter's death, Diana and Persephone are officially trapped within the Infernal cult, both of whom are being used for their magic. The girls would pray to Cresselia, a legendary that their mom also prayed to, for help and freedom. And eventually Cresselia came. But. In their attempt to escape, Peresphone was lagging behind. She was about to be caught, and so she screamed her sister's name. Diana looked back once. They were fear in her eyes. She wanted freedom. It was right there in front of her, Cresselia was right there, waiting. Diana wanted her freedom and so she turned around and ran. Hoping that one day her sister would forgive her. Cresselia and Diana left, and Peresphone was left behind. She wouldn't escape until much later. She resents her sister for leaving her. She resents Cresselia for choosing her. She resents her mom for dying,for leaving them. So, to spite them all, she looks for Darkrai. Maybe then it wouldn't abandon her. Right?

And yeah! That's my version of events regarding everything between Diana and Persephone. A lot of details aren't finalized so this is like. A basic summary. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

[rockwgooglyeyes]

may i ask what nyx’s opinion would be on cinnabar ^^ ? ( and possibly leto if he recognizes they’re related ? )

love you rock ! < 3

One of the tough things about Nyx is that, overall, he likes kids but his opinion of people is undeniably and irrevocably warped by the people that he loves. Cas (@lookatmysillies) is his older brother, though not by blood in the canon AU, and he loves Cas dearly. If he met Cinnabar and Leto (@paradisedisconcert), without knowing how they are, he would probably treat them with perfect kindness. He would play with them, listen to them and ruffle their hair, laughing along with their jokes. But if he met them, knowing who they are?

Nyx can't look at Cinnabar without feeling sick to his stomach, his core tying itself up in knots. Not only can Cas not bear to look at her but she's been brutalized in the same way Cas was and Nyx hates it, he hates it so much. What he hates more is that he can't even do her the service of looking her in the eye. He feels more or less the same way about Leto but he's more heartbroken by how Leto is desperate for attention, any kind of attention, even if that's a punch in the face. (Sorry I don't know if Sun has mentioned that lmao but uh. yeah. Leto thinks of violence as affection 🫣). Leto has been treated in a way different than Cinnabar but not necessarily in a way that's better.

If Nyx were to ever meet Leto or Cinnabar, though, I do think he would recognize them right away. He knows Cas' face and they're both admittedly Cas and someone else's children, but Leto has Cas' eyes (a muddle with Cas' eye color) and probably some other facial feature is shared. Cinnabar has Cas' hair and cowlicks, the same kind of eyelashes, the same slope of her eyebrows. Whatever it is, both kids have shared features with their dad and Nyx clocks them pretty much right away. I don't know if he would be able to clock them as related to each other, though, without them standing right next to each other or smth

[yonemurishiroku]

What is your favorite au

Ok this is a conundrum lmao. I pretty much enjoy everything that has Nico, and the people come up with countless fantastic ideas as well.

But since you asked, I'd say I'm most enthusiastic with the Royal AU(s) and that Time Travel AU (with or without the selfcest part) of mine.

The Royal AU(s) because imo Nico is canonically a prince (son of Hades) and a King (Ghost King) and a court member (Ambassador of Pluto). With that, the AUs appear not quite far from canon, thus have enough materials to work with, while still allowing me to spice things up with a few touches of politics and warfare. ヾ(•ω•`)o

Actually no that was a lie. I just like Royalty Nico too much LOL. 🤣🥳😔 every time I think of him as a Prince or a King I picture him with all these exquisite clothes and thorny crowns and bony thrones, commanding his people with those limited set of leading skills and abundant love, and I just fall in love all over again.

And of course, the fact that I can squeeze a nice Hades-and-Nico father-son relationship out of it lmao. 🥰🥰 It's like my religion at this point. In every Royal AU I have, Nico would always be Hades' precious child. Nico can be a King, a Prince, a Crown Prince, or an Angel,... and I'd personally make sure Hades favors him all the same. Of course, Nico's devoted to his father (and their nation) in kind. I just love this family too much.

The Time Travel AU because 1/ I can fantasize as much as I want about an Older Nico and 2/ The first one Nico should love is him, and what else is better to build it than a Time-Travel AU, wherein you can meet multiple versions of yours?

I'm a die-hard for selflove Nico. Always have been. Since the very start. And the Time-Travel AU - even without all the selfcest part (which I might have or have not put in just to piss the fandom off lmao) - is a perfect reflection of it.

I'm a vindictive being. Sometimes I see nobody good enough to take care of Nico the way he deserves. So I just think, "Why don't I make another version of him take care of himself?" and surprisingly, it makes sense - what's with Kronos being the Titan of Time... And that's all I need for an AU.

An older Nico from the Future, who has lived through and understands all nooks and crannies of Nico's traumas, returning to the Past to save himself. What's more beautiful than that?

Also yes because I have self-esteem issue LMAO. 🤣🤣🤣

This basically concludes it. Tho there're many more AUs I'm in love with - the Sky AU in which I made Nico Nyx's successor aka the embodiment of Night for example, or many others which I wrangle Luke in just for the angst.

[theothervonkarmagirl]

🍭🍭THE SHIP BABY DIRECTORY!🍭🍭

The products of Maria's various ships on this blog! Some babies are canon, some are not, and some are more prominent than others (and this list will inevitably grow sigh), but I love all of them!

I'll keep it basic so it won't be a novel, but you can ask about them if you want!

CLARA (the OG)

Father: Maria's Unnamed Ex-Husband (Prosecutor!Verse), Leo (FE!Verse (when she's married to Leo), KNY!Verse)

Stepfather: Simon (@risingshine )

((I won't rehash her bio and personality since she has a page already! Go check it out~))

SANTANA GAVIN

Father: Klavier (@legalbrats)

Bio: Maria and Klavier's oldest child. She caused quite a stir among Gavinners fans when she was born. She's played the guitar and volleyball since she was a young child. How does a teenager rebel against parents as over-the-top as Maria and Klavier? By being as basic as possible. Santana went to great lengths to fit in as much as she could, which caused her parents great distress. In her spare time, she composes and posts songs on social media.

Personality: Santana is kind, sunny, and strong-willed. She is protective of her siblings and likes having lots of friends. Like her parents, she can be dramatic when bad things happen, and very flirty.

Physical Appearance: Blonde hair. A lovely smile. Powerful legs.

NYX GAVIN

Father: Klavier (@legalbrats)

Bio: The second child of three, unlike her sister, she tries hard to stand out. She sings very well, and as she gets older, she becomes interested in charity work. Is known for making nasty faces at paparazzi. She often wonders if she should go into law, too.

Personality: Nyx likes to appear tough, but she is actually a big baby. She'll say "whatever" and then cry to her parents later. She is compassionate and artistic, and a little mischievous.

Physical Appearance: Her ears stick out a bit. Colored highlights. Likes leather jackets.

RICK JAMES "RJ" GAVIN

Father: Klavier (@legalbrats)

Bio: The youngest, and the only boy. He and his sisters are very close. He tagged along to one of Santana's ballet lessons when he was small and he loved it. He danced until middle school, where he was picked on for it. In college, he rediscovered his love for dance and continued. He wants to be a movie star, too.

Personality: He's passionate and confident, but he can be arrogant and shallow. In terms of self-improvement, he's unstoppable. When his ego is bruised, though, he'll spiral until someone reassures him.

Physical Appearance: Klavier's clone. He works out a lot. Has dimples.

KIRAGI

Father: Takumi (@fjinyumi )

Bio: Maria and Takumi's long-awaited son, who was placed in a Deeprealm(a pocket dimension) when he was nearly kidnapped as a baby. He reunited with his parents during the war, and he enjoys hunting, where he can put his incredible eyesight to good use. Although he is a prince, he dislikes fancy clothes and prefers that people speak casually to him.

Personality: He's friendly and fun-loving and doesn't sweat the small stuff. He can be stubborn and very messy, though. Like biohazard messy. He often puts hunting before his studies.

Physical Appearance: Here he is!

SHOUKO KANEDA

Father: Kaneda (@sayonaradumbass)

Bio: Born in a timeline where Tetsuo did not get up to his Tetsuo business, and to the sheer horror of Maria's father. Her mom is a prosecutor turned fashion consultant and her dad owns a bike garage. Since her mother works crazy hours, she is often in the care of Kaneda, who is definitely the more lax parent. When she gets older, she becomes a punk, and Maria absolutely cannot stand it.

Personality: Shouko is outgoing and curious and a bit of a showoff. She loves to talk to new people. She goes to private school but she can be hood af and is not afraid to stomp somebody, which often gets her in trouble.

Physical Appearance: Fluffy eyebrows. Poofy cheeks. Her hair started out light but darkened as she got older.

[hopefulatrocity]

From The Ashes Chapter 4

Note: Next chapter Daryl and Pheonyx see each other for the first time. Reviews and reblogs are appreciated! The song is Lost Boy by Ruth B

Dividers by:

@firefly-graphics

&

@omiyours

Banner by: @liminal-creations 

CW/TW: Anxiety, beginnings of anxiety attack, canon character death, PTSD symptoms. 

Prev Next

After Maggie left, Hershel came in and told Pheonyx what was happening. Apparently Carl needed surgery, and Shane and Otis were heading to the FEMA center at the local high school to get the needed supplies. The one that was overrun with shadows. When the older man told him their plan, Pheonyx stood up so fast the chair he was in was knocked over. 

“What?!”, he exclaimed. “That place is a deathtrap! Otis has almost no experience with those things, Hershel! How long ago did they leave? Maybe I can catch up with them.”

Hershel sighed and placed a hand on Pheonyx’s shoulder to stop him from rushing out of the room, “I know, Nyx. But he needed to do this. He has the EMT experience so he knows what we need. The likelihood the boy survives surgery without the anesthesia and manual respirator is almost zero. And I need you to stay here, he’s going to need another transfusion in less than an hour. We have to have faith that Otis will make it back to us.”

Faith was something that Pheonyx lost many years ago. But he chose not to say that to Hershel. He hated that his stepfather was right, though. He couldn’t leave. Carl needed him. So, he just nodded and righted the chair that he tipped over. Sitting down, he leaned his elbows on his knees and placed his head into his hands. Hershel patted him on the back and left the two boys alone. 

The chances of Otis making it back were slim. While Pheonyx was never close with the farmhand, he had sworn to protect everyone that lived in the farmhouse. Stomach roiling with guilt and fear, he tried to clear his mind and took a deep breath. 

He grasped the young boy’s hand again, noting how much smaller it was compared to his own. “When I woke up in the hospital, I was pretty much catatonic for a while. Didn’t move or talk to anyone. But there was a nurse there, her name was Meredith, she would come in on her breaks and sing to me. It helped bring me out of the hole I was in. Now, I’m not the best singer in the world, the animals are the only ones I’ve sung for, but maybe it can help you too. If not, you won’t remember any of this so I won’t have to be embarrassed. That’s a bonus.”, a soft chuckle escaped his sun-chapped lips. He took a moment to try to think of an appropriate song to sing to an 11yr old boy. When he had one in mind, he began to sing, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“There was a time when I was alone

Nowhere to go and no place to call home

My only friend was the man in the Moon

And even, sometimes, he would go away, too

Then one night, as I closed my eyes

I saw a shadow flying high

He came to me with the sweetest smile

Told me he wanted to talk for a while

He said, "Peter Pan, that's what they call me

I promise that you'll never be lonely"

And ever since that day”

At some point, Kismet had nosed his way through the shut door, drawn by his owner’s voice. He padded into the room, and sat by Pheonyx’s side. A furry nose pressed into the man’s unoccupied hand.

“I am a Lost Boy from Neverland

Usually hanging out with Peter Pan

And when we're bored, we play in the woods

Always on the run from Captain Hook

"Run, run, Lost Boy", they say to me

"Away from all of reality"

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free

He sprinkled me in pixie dust and told me to believe

Believe in him and believe in me

Together, we will fly away in a cloud of green

To your beautiful destiny

As we soared above the town that never loved me

I realized I finally had a family

Soon enough, we reached Neverland

Peacefully, my feet hit the sand

And ever since that day”

Occasionally, Pheonyx felt a twitch of the boy’s hand against his fingers. Just a whisper of a movement but it urged him to keep singing. 

“I am a Lost Boy from Neverland

Usually hanging out with Peter Pan

And when we're bored, we play in the woods

Always on the run from Captain Hook

"Run, run, Lost Boy", they say to me

"Away from all of reality"

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free–”

A creak of the floorboards had both Kismet and Pheonyx whipping their heads to the doorway. Rick’s tall frame filled the entrance. His hat had been taken off at some point and a bit of color had popped back into his cheeks. Not much, but he no longer looked like he was about to pass out. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” his voice was still rough with tears and shock. The sheriff moved farther into the room, walking around the bed to reach his son’s other side. His hands were settled on his hips, thumbs hooked in the holster belt. “Lori used to read him Peter Pan before bed all the time. We got him so many books but he always wanted to read that one. He went as Peter for Halloween 3 years in a row.”

A small smile played over the man’s face as he stared down at his son, “He started crying at his 6th birthday party because he didn’t want to get older. Said that Peter wouldn’t let him be part of the Lost Boys if he did.” 

The smile on Rick’s face was contagious and Pheonyx felt his lips turning up as well. “Your son has good tastes. It was my favorite story growing up too. My first tattoo was actually a quote from the story.”

Rubbing a hand over his sweaty face, Rick reached down to hold his son’s other hand. His warm blue eyes lifted to look into the younger man’s green ones. “Thank you. I just– Thank you. For giving him blood. Sitting here with him. Talking to him. I can’t thank y’all enough.” 

Pheonyx shook his head. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s the right thing to do. Carl’s strong. I may not know him but I have a gut feeling. He’s going to make it through this.”, there was a brief moment of silence, “Maggie told me there is a little girl missing? I’d like to help find her if that’s okay? I spend every day in those woods and I’ve gotten pretty good at tracking over the past couple of months. I’ve also been working with Kismet on scent tracking. So, anyway we can help, let us know.”

Kismet’s ears perked at his name and he looked over at the sheriff, giving a small woof. Obviously, giving the man his qualifications for tracking. Pheonyx hushed the dog and patted his head. A look of relief filled Rick’s eyes as he processed what was said. 

“Yes please. Any help is appreciated. We have an experienced tracker in our group, Daryl, but we lost her trail earlier. We got held up by a herd yesterday, and Sophia ran into the woods, walkers on her tail. I managed to find her and hide her so I could lead the walkers away. I told her to keep the sun over her left shoulder and head back to the highway. But she got spooked by something and her tracks turned around at some point.”

“We’ll find her, Rick. You just focus on Carl right now. He needs you the most.” 

Rick nodded. Pheonyx glanced out the window and saw Maggie riding Koda towards the house. A skinny brunette woman rode with her arms wrapped around his sister. 

Pheonyx tilted his head to the window, “I think your wife is here.”

The next hours passed slowly. After giving the couple some time alone with Carl, Patricia and Pheonyx came back in to hook him up for a second transfusion. He stayed with the boy while Hershel talked to Rick and Lori in the dining room. Kismet kept him company, which ultimately meant the dog was passed out on the floor, snoring. The rhythmic whistling and fluttering of the dog’s lips was oddly comforting in the silence of the make-shift hospital room. When the parents returned, Lori placed a warm hand on his shoulder and thanked him for donating blood. 

“It’s no problem ma’am.”, Pheonyx said, trying not to flinch when she touched his shoulder. The woman was kind and motherly. He knew she wasn’t going to hurt him, but his body still worked on instinct. Strange touches sent jolts of fire through his pores, made fear flow through his veins, and caused his muscles to tense. She must have noticed the brief flare of panic in his eyes, because she pulled her hand away and gave him a comforting smile. Silence reared its head again. 

Day turned into night and every minute that Shane and Otis were gone just increased the worry floating through the house. Rick tried to insist on going after them but Lori tried to pull him back to earth, reminding him he needed to be with Carl. The sheriff was insistent though. Patricia was about to hook Pheonyx up for a third transfusion but he stopped her. He stood up from the chair and approached the bickering couple. 

“Rick, I’m actually feeling a bit dizzy, maybe you could do this unit?” Pheonyx lied easily, knowing the man’s urge to help his son would override his worry for the two men. The ruse worked and Rick allowed Patricia to insert the IV. 

Lori mouthed her thanks to Pheonyx and he gave a small smile in return. He made his way out the door, needing to get out of the room. The fear and anxiety in the room was stifling. Admittedly, a good portion of it was from him. He hadn’t even realized his hands were trembling. It could have been from the blood loss but more than likely it was the feeling of panic closing in on him. Kismet followed beside him, leaning against the man’s leg as they walked through the house to the porch. The dog was better than any therapist or anti-anxiety meds that Pheonyx ever had. Just the presence of his furry companion was a balm to his soul. The screen door squeaked and shut with a loud thud as the pair walked out into the humid night air. 

“Needed a break?”, Maggie’s voice sounded from beside him, and he jumped slightly. She was seated on a rocking chair, knees to her chest, in the dark corner of the porch. Kismet’s tail began to thump against his leg at the sight of the young woman. 

Pheonyx patted the dog’s head and moved to sit beside his sister on the porch. “Yeah. Too many people. Too many emotions. I was 2 minutes away from an anxiety attack.”, he leaned his head back against the house, letting it hit with a soft bang. Kismet laid beside him, placing his head into his lap. 

“You’re doin’ good. I’m proud of you.”, Maggie reached over and brushed some of Pheonyx’s short brown hair from his forehead. She was one of the only people that he could stomach touching him. He even felt comfort in it. “You goin’ to be okay searchin’ for that girl tomorrow? Rick said he wants you to work with one of his people. I know all these new people are alot for you..”

“I’m not going to let my anxiety get in the way of finding a lost kid. We both know I’m the best person to help these people, anyways. I don’t have much of a choice.” Pheonyx pet Kismet’s head, finding solace in the soft fur on his ears and neck. “I’ll have my boy as a social buffer anyways. Right, Kizzie?”, he spoke in baby talk to the pup, who wagged his tail harder at the attention. 

Maggie knew her brother well enough to know he was trying to change the subject. Before she could point it out, the noise of a car coming up the driveway distracted them. A small bit of hope filled both of their chests before they realized it wasn’t Otis’s truck pulling in. An old station wagon pulled up and two men stepped out. One was a buff African American man who looked as if he’d seen better days. Sweat ran down his face, which looked paler than it should be. The other was a younger asian man, probably close to Maggie’s age. They looked nervous and questioned whether they should knock on the door or not, obviously not seeing the two Greene siblings in the dark corner of the porch. 

“You close the gate when you drove up?”, Pheonyx spoke up and smirked when the two men jumped. Kismet leapt to his feet and wiggled his way over to the new people. He panted happily as the men each scratched his head and smiled at him. 

The younger man’s eyes were locked on Maggie as he answered, “Uh, Hi. Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything.”, Pheonyx watched him visibly gulp as he looked over his sister. Maggie noticed the attention and placed her feet on the ground, leaning her elbows on her knees. 

Oh this should be interesting, he thought. 

“Hello, it’s nice to see you again. We, uh, met before, briefly.”, the man rambled, his face getting sweatier than it already was. 

Saving the other man from his embarrassment and also needing to get away from the influx of people, Pheonyx stood up. “Maggs, I’m going to head to the stable, start planning the search for tomorrow. If they need more blood, come get me?”

His sister nodded and stood up to give him a kiss to his cheek. “Of course. Try to get some rest, please? Kismet can stay here, give you some time to yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am.”, Pheonyx said sarcastically. As he moved to the brick steps, he noticed the bloodied bandage on the pale man’s arm. Instinctively, his hand moved to his cutlass and adrenaline filled his veins. Noticing the movement, the Asian man moved in front of his friend and held up his hands.

“It’s not a bite! He cut himself on some glass.”

Relief filled Pheonyx and his already-tired body felt even more exhausted. He patted Maggie’s shoulder and inclined his head towards her, “Maggie will show you guys inside. Get you something to eat. I’m sure Patricia can help with that arm of yours.” 

With that, he left the men in the capable hands of his sister and headed to the stables on the other side of the house. The building was one of the newer ones on the property. The original stables for the farm had burned down in the early 90’s during a particularly dry summer. No horses had been harmed, thankfully, but the whole building had to be rebuilt. And now, since the world went to shit, Pheonyx considered it his base of operations. All his supplies for hunting, making traps, and killing shadows were stored in one of the empty stables. There was a property map that was centered on the wall where the tack room was located. That one was nearly the same as the one he gave to Maggie to give to the group on the highway, just much larger. Every mark he had made on this map, he made on the other one as well. It paid to have a backup copy if something happened to the one hung up. Every important location was marked on it: shadow traps, safe walking trails, abandoned farmhouses, supply caches he had buried, danger zones, safe drinking water sources, and even areas where game frequented. The map had taken over a month of heavy work and scouting. Not including the time it took to set up the traps themselves. He had several maps of the surrounding towns, each one marked and sectioned with the types of businesses that the area contained. 

Pheonyx’s legs felt heavy as he passed each stall in the dark building, giving each horse a small pet on their fuzzy noses. In order to keep his family in the dark about his work on eliminating shadows, he did all the work in the stables so they wouldn’t see the supplies and maps. Everyday, he fed and watered the horses, made sure they were groomed, and led them to their designated pastures. In turn, he had gotten close with all of them. He knew all their quirks and strengths. Maggie was the only other person who went in the stables, as she often made trips into town. He was pretty certain that, up until earlier when he confirmed it, she chose to remain oblivious to all of the other work regarding shadows that he did.  It was going to come out sooner or later, and he had a feeling that–with the arrival of this new group–Hershel would be the next to find out. It was something he was dreading. Pheonyx hated fighting with his stepfather, but it was inevitable in this case. He walked to the end of the stable and opened up the empty one he had claimed as his own sleeping quarters. It was nothing special, all he did was sweep out all the hay from the floor and place a camping cot in the corner. One of his grandma’s old quilts was crumpled on top of it along with an old pillow. Placed alongside the cot was a small table with a battery operated lantern. He didn’t bother turning it on before crawling onto the cot, which gave a loud creak from the movement. He kicked off his worn Timberland boots, letting them fall to the floor with a thud.

Despite the exhaustion floating over his head, he didn’t fall asleep. He stared at the ceiling of the stables, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness around him. Minutes passed. Maybe hours. He wasn’t too sure. 

The loud sound of Otis’s truck coming up the drive had Pheonyx shooting up from the small bed. He didn’t even bother putting on his boots before he ran out of the stables, stopping right at the front. Even from a distance, he could see only one person exiting the vehicle. A person who was definitely not Otis. Shane exited the truck and handed off the bags of supplies to Hershel. His heart plummeted. It didn’t take a genius to know what happened. Otis was dead. He may not have known the man very well, but he was still a part of the family. There was a sharp stab of grief in his heart, followed by nauseating guilt. It was irrational, he couldn’t have stopped Otis from trying to right his wrongs, even accidental ones. If Pheonyx had gone in his place, he could have been killed instead. Or Rick could have died from donating too much blood in his stead. Which would mean that Carl would have died as well. Rationally, he knew he wasn’t responsible for Otis’s death. It still didn’t stop the darker parts of his mind from placing the blood on his hands.

Pheonyx probably should have gone to comfort his sisters, or Patricia, but he didn’t have the emotional energy to handle it. Kismet was with them, so he knew they at least had someone to cling to. So, he just headed back into the stables.

And just how Pheonyx always dealt with his emotions, he packed away the grief and put all his energy into distracting himself. In this case, it was planning the search for the little girl. He studied the large map, one that showed all the elevations of the property, on the stable wall and scrubbed a hand over his face. Turning on the lamp that hung by the tack room, he sighed and got to work. 

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[clericofshadows]

Dark OC asks: 6 for Regis and 12 for Nyx please

thanks for the ask :D

I just answered 6 here for Regis :)

12. If your OC was arrested, what would the charges be?

Originally, I had Nyx as an Earthborn but with a family and had a normal life. But after playing through parts of ME1 and getting access to the Reds quest, I changed my mind right then and there and kept the typical Earthborn background for him.

So, in the past, crimes connected to gangs, drug running, petty theft. As he got older prior to enlisting to the military, assault and potentially murder would be added to the list. If they were found out.

Current canon Nyx? Other than fraternization (lmao) I could see him getting defensive over Torfan and/or the First Contact War and causing a disturbance/fight over it with the right person (or wrong person, depending on how you look at it).